Film wrapping or packaging machines or apparatus, for wrapping articles, packages, or palletized loads within wrapping film, are of course well known in the art. Examples of such film wrapping machines or apparatus are disclosed within U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,961 which issued to Turfan on Mar. 6, 2001, U.S. Pat. No. 5,787,691 which issued to Turfan on Aug. 4, 1998, U.S. Pat. No. 5,517,807 which issued to Morantz on May 21, 1996, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,796 which issued to Haloila on May 13, 1986. As disclosed within FIG. 1, which substantially corresponds to FIG. 1 of the aforenoted U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,961 of Turfan, and which is representative of the conventional film wrapping or packaging machines, a film wrapping or packaging machine is generally indicated by the reference character 10 and is seen to comprise a four-post upstanding framework 12 through which extends a conveyor 14 for conveying articles, packages, or palletized loads, to be wrapped or packaged, to a wrapping station 16 which is located substantially at the center of the region or area which is peripherally defined by means of the four upstanding posts of the framework 12. An upper frame member 18, which is vertically movable in a reciprocating manner with respect to the framework 12, rotatably supports a ring or circular track member 20 upon which is mounted a plastic film roll mounting and dispensing assembly or carriage 22 upon which, in turn, is mounted a roll 24 of plastic wrapping film. Consequently, when the upper frame member 18 is moved in vertically upward and downward directions, and the ring or track member 20 is rotated with respect to the vertically movable upper frame member 18, film from the film roll 24, mounted upon the film roll mounting and dispensing assembly or carriage 22, can be withdrawn therefrom and applied onto the articles, packages, or palletized loads which are to be wrapped within film packaging material and which are disposed or located at the wrapping station 16.
It can of course be appreciated that after a plurality of articles, packages, or palletized loads have been wrapped within the film packaging or wrapping material disposed upon and withdrawn from the film roll 24, the film roll 24 will eventually become depleted and must therefore be replaced by means of a fresh roll of wrapping or packaging film. Alternatively, during a film wrapping operation, the packaging or wrapping film may in fact experience breakage. In either instance, therefore, the film roll 24, disposed upon the film roll mounting and dispensing assembly or carriage 22, must be replaced with a fresh and intact roll of wrapping or packaging film. While such an exchange or replacement procedure may of course be performed manually, such a procedure is tedious and time-consuming. More particularly, the wrapping operation must be temporarily halted or terminated, the upper frame member 18, upon which the ring or track member 20 and the film roll mounting and dispensing assembly or carriage 22 are mounted, must be vertically moved to an elevation at which the operator personnel can access the film roll 24 disposed upon the film roll mounting and dispensing assembly or carriage 22, the depleted roll of packaging or wrapping film, or the roll of packaging or wrapping film which experienced the break in the film, must then be removed from the film roll mounting and dispensing assembly or carriage 22, and a new or fresh roll of wrapping or packaging film 24 must be mounted upon the film roll mounting and dispensing assembly or carriage 22.
A need therefore exists in the art for a new and improved film changer, operatively associated with a film wrapping machine, which can automatically exchange rolls of wrapping film, wherein a depleted roll of wrapping film, or a roll of wrapping film which has experienced a breakage in its wrapping film, can be automatically removed from the film roll carriage and wherein a fresh roll of wrapping film can effectively be positionally exchanged with the depleted roll of wrapping film, or with the roll of wrapping film that has experienced the breakage as a result of the fresh roll of wrapping film being subsequently mounted upon the film roll carriage so as to effectively complete the replacement of the depleted roll of wrapping film or the roll of wrapping film which experienced a breakage in the wrapping film.